U.S. Treasury Sanctions Nobitex, Iran’s Largest Cryptocurrency Exchange
The U.S. Treasury has enacted sanctions against four cryptocurrency exchanges in Iran, including Nobitex, due to their involvement in providing sanctioned entities access to the digital asset market.
Summary
- The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned four Iranian crypto exchanges, among them Nobitex, under its Economic Fury initiative aimed at Iran.
- Treasury alleges that Nobitex facilitates transactions for sanctioned entities, with Chainalysis indicating that the platform handles roughly 50% of Iran’s crypto trading volume.
- This action follows Treasury’s claim of seizing nearly $1 billion in cryptocurrency from Iranian exchanges and wallets since the conflict began.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has specified that the recent sanctions are aimed at Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex as part of the ongoing “Economic Fury” campaign against Iran. U.S. individuals and businesses are now prohibited from providing services to these designated exchanges.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remarked that the Iranian government has utilized digital asset technology to bypass sanctions and transfer wealth amid the nation’s deteriorating economic situation. He stressed that the Treasury will continue to monitor financial activities related to Iran across traditional banking and cryptocurrency channels.
Initiated on April 14, the Economic Fury campaign has become crucial for Washington’s attempts to financially isolate Iran following the joint U.S. and Israeli strikes that sparked the conflict in February. U.S. officials have linked this campaign to efforts aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program development.
Just before announcing the new sanctions, Bessent disclosed that the Treasury had recovered nearly $1 billion in cryptocurrency from Iranian exchanges and wallets since the start of the conflict.
Treasury focuses on Iran’s largest crypto exchange
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis reports that Nobitex plays a significant part in Iran’s “digital dollar pipeline,” accounting for about 50% of the country’s cryptocurrency trading activities.
The Treasury has recognized Nobitex as a vital financial platform serving sanctioned Iranian entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Additionally, the Treasury has asserted that the exchange has facilitated surveillance operations against Iranian civilians.
In conjunction with the platform, Treasury has added Nobitex’s CEO Seyed Ali Khoee and Chairman Amir Hossein Rad to the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions list.
Recent information from Reuters has provided more insight into the exchange, revealing that Nobitex was founded in 2018 by siblings Ali and Mohammad Kharrazi, who are part of a politically influential Iranian family.
According to Reuters, Nobitex claims to have 11 million users and processes approximately 70% of Iran’s cryptocurrency transactions.
Nobitex has denied having any direct ties to the government, portraying itself as a private and independent entity. The exchange informed the news agency that it has no contracts or relationships with the IRGC, Iran’s central bank, or any governmental bodies.
Crypto activities related to Nobitex have drawn attention during military escalations. Previous reports from crypto.news, citing data from Elliptic, indicated that withdrawals from the platform surged over 700% shortly after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes in Tehran.
Elliptic noted that withdrawals exceeded $500,000 immediately following the attacks and reached approximately $3 million between February 28 and March 1.
While Elliptic highlighted that Nobitex allows users to convert Iranian rials to cryptocurrency and transfer funds to external wallets, TRM Labs offered a more cautious assessment, suggesting that some of the activity might have been influenced by internet outages, which reportedly caused transaction volumes in Iran to plummet by about 99%.
Actions against Iran have already curtailed access to funding channels worth tens of billions of dollars, according to the Treasury Department. Recent measures have included sanctions targeting alleged shadow banking operations, firms connected to Iran’s oil trade, and foreign officials accused of supporting Tehran’s military efforts.
Treasury keeps focus on cryptocurrency enforcement
The latest sanctions are part of a broader pattern of Treasury actions aimed at cryptocurrency infrastructures believed to support sanctioned governments, terrorist organizations, and criminal networks.
In May, the Treasury imposed sanctions on two networks linked to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel over allegations that cryptocurrency transactions were used to facilitate profits from fentanyl trafficking. Multiple individuals and six Ethereum wallet addresses were included in that action.
At that time, Bessent emphasized that authorities would maintain their pursuit of financial networks exploited by criminal organizations. The Treasury has reiterated that sanctions, asset seizures, and wallet designations remain critical tools in its mission to disrupt funding channels for adversarial states and illicit actors.
